Printing Civil War Parole Passes

Union and Confederate veterans from the Civil War shake hands; the Confederate veteran could have been granted one of these parole passes after the surrender in 1865. (Public Domain).

Now a national historical park, the village of Appomattox Court House is less than two hours from Richmond, Virginia, and is still surrounded by fields and woods today. It appears as sleepy and sedate as it most likely did on one overcast afternoon in 1865. Two war-weary generals met in the parlor of the two-story, brick home owned by Wilmer McLean. Their meeting, as well as their exchanged and signed surrender-related letters, ended the civil war that had lasted four years and resulted in more than 600,000 Americans’ deaths.

A contemporary view of the Appomattox Court House Historical Park, the location of the Confederate surrender to Union forces in 1865. Public Domain

While Americans are generally aware that on April 9, 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederates) to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (Union) at the McLean residence in the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia, what followed the next day is less known.  

Historical accounts say that news of the surrender on April 9 took time to reach all areas of fighting, and Gen. Grant agreed to allow almost 30,000 soldiers with the Army of Northern Virginia to leave Appomattox Court House and surrounding area with their side arms and their horse, if they owned one. Thus, a printed parole pass was a necessity to ensure Confederate soldiers would not be mistaken for deserters or active combatants.

However, “there were no printing presses in Appomattox prior to the surrender; the closest printing presses would have been in Lynchburg,” said Patrick A. Schroeder, historian, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. Thus, on April 10, Union soldiers quickly set up a portable printing press in a room at Clover Hill Tavern. The inn and pub had been built in the early 1800s to house guests stopping for rest and provisions as they traveled along the stagecoach route that ran from Richmond to Lynchburg.

The Words that Ensured Safe Passage

Maj. Gen. George Sharpe, serving the Union army as chief of the Bureau of Military Information, oversaw the rapid printing of approximately 30,000 passes within about 48 hours. The current exhibit at Clover Hill Tavern is a visual presentation of what the room may have looked like, with the portable press set up on wooden trunks and printed passes hanging to dry on lines strung throughout the tavern.

A parole pass granting Confederate soldiers safe passage after the Civil War. Library of Virginia. Public Domain

Once printed, the passes were distributed to Confederate officers, who filled them out for the men they commanded.

Not only did the freshly printed parole passes enable Confederate soldiers present to leave the area on foot or horseback, but it permitted them to obtain free passage on any Federally operated railroad or steam ship so they could make their way back home to one of the Southern states safer and faster.

A Treasured Certificate

According to the historical research nonprofit Emerging Civil War, in a 2021 report about the Appomattox Court House parole passes, the importance of the printed pieces of paper is conveyed, “Almost immediately, Confederate soldiers grasped the importance of the papers. To them, the paroles represented the promise that they would not be treated dishonorably. Instead, they could travel home without fear of being accosted and even draw food or transportation from Union garrisons they passed. These papers were sought after as a shield against ‘punishment and vengeance,’ [as one soldier stated] and a Union officer recorded ‘It was very noticeable how greedily the Confederates, rank and file especially, clutched at their ‘protection papers’ provided for them by the terms of the treaty.’”

Some Civil War veterans kept their parole passes as mementos, noted Emerging Civil War’s report: “One veteran, Edgar Warfield, had his parole pass until his death in 1934. He recorded, ‘I still have it. I have carefully preserved it, valuing it as a priceless relic, as it furnishes official proof that I was present with the army to the last.’”

A full list of parolees is offered alphabetically by the National Park Service. Travelers can plan a history off the beaten path trip to see the printing press exhibit and much more at the Appomattox Court House National Historical Site, as the park is open year-round, except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

Besides a stop at the reconstructed courthouse, Appomattox Court House has a visitor center and museum with an audio-video presentation and exhibits to get a taste of 19th century pre- and post-war life.

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